Embroidering on a Rope Bowl or Trivet

Rope bowls and trivets are quite popular of late and even more beautiful when you add machine embroidery!

Last week, I shared a great tutorial on how to make rope bowls and baskets by Natalie from  Deerwood + Jones. Machine embroiderers love to stitch on the bottom for a lovely home accent. This week, I’ll show you how to do that on a trivet.

Whether you make a basket, bowl, or trivet, the embroidery process is the same.

Making a Rope Trivet

 
I chose to use the first file in Bonnie’s 4x4 Feathered Friends design set.

Stitch the rope base according to the tutorial. Make sure it is slightly larger than your design size. Since I am using a 4x4 size, I stitched the rope circle to about 6.5 inches in width.

If you want to make a bowl, leave the rope attached when embroidering the base. For a trivet, cut rope about 5 inches past the last zig zag stitching. Loop it back between the outer rope and the inner stitched rope. Zig zag raw edges to secure.

Embroidering on a Rope Trivet

Find the center of the rope base and mark each of the four center crosshair points with straight pins.

Mark the center crosshairs on a piece of heavy tearaway stabilizer.

|Spray the back of the rope base with a temporary adhesive and position it in the center of the hoop, matching pins to the crosshair lines. Remove pins.

Stitch the design on the rope coil.

• Choose a design without a lot of fill stitching.
• Use a 90/14 needle.
• Slow down stitching speed.
• A topper may help stitch quality.
• Cotton or poly threads will wear better than rayon.

When stitching is finished, trim stabilizer close to the stitching and you have a pretty, spring trivet.

If you are making a bowl or basket, continue zig zagging the rope, angling the sides as shown in the tutorial.

Debbie Henry
Sew Inspired by Bonnie